Sam Penner is an independent contemporary dance artist of mixed settler heritage, living and working in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. She performed extensively in her home province of Manitoba before relocating to the East Coast in 2021. Across her career she has worked with Mocean Dance, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, Gearshifting Performance Works and Rooted Dance Projects, working with choreographers including Peggy Baker, Susanne Chui, Alexandra Elliott, Jolene Bailie, and Kathleen Doherty.

Penner’s choreographic practice explores both stage and screen. Recent creative highilihgts include premiering her short dance film Cumulus (2023), and remounting her work Nothing Doing (2019) for Coastal Currents 2025.

Photo: Kevin MacCormack

Meredith Kalaman is a two time Chrystal Dance Prize recipient, dancer, choreographer and teacher. She has choreographed pieces about; giraffes, girl guiding, exploring constellations, superheroes, skeletons, past entertainers and female identity. Meredith trained with Ballet BC in Vancouver before embarking on her independent career dancing and performing in Canada, Europe and Australia. Past presentation highlights include St. John Contemporary Dance Festival 2025, Coastal Currents and Island Fringe performing in Jessica Lowe's work, Enchantress and working with theatre dramaturg Raina von Waldenburg. Her full length work Femme Fatales toured to Victoria, Edmonton and was presented at Uferstudios in Berlin in 2017. Meredith also produces an immersive speakeasy event called The Underground in Halifax.

Photo: Richard-Mercier

Jacinte Armstrong is an Acadian artist based in K’jipuktuk/Halifax, Canada. Her work explores embodied practice through performance, choreography, collaboration, and curation, communicating the experience of the body in relation to objects, materials, technologies, and people. Jacinte is Artistic Director and co-founder of SiNS (Sometimes in Nova Scotia) dance, co-Artistic Director at suddenlyLISTEN, and collaborates often with Mocean Dance. From 2014-18 she was Artistic Director of Kinetic Studio, presenting an annual season of contemporary dance workshops and performances in Nova Scotia. In 2020 she received her MFA in Performance from NSCAD University and is a Certified Laban Movement Analyst.

Photo: Kurtis Walsh

Holly Timpener (they/them) is a queer, non-binary performance artist working with themes of resistance and transformation. Timpener’s works investigate issues related to gender, intimacy, trauma, and the body, while “The Personal Is Political” is embodied in a modern sociopolitical context. They have presented work for Month of Performance Art Berlin, The Art Gallery of Ontario, SummerWorks, The Bronx Museum, Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, La Centrale, Venice International Performance Art Week, among others. Timpener is honoured to have worked several times with La Pocha Nosta at Montreal Arts Interculturels, the Taos Paseo Festival, and Encuentro in Mexico City. Most recently, they performed for the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and have been the recipient of two Canadian Council Grants.

Photo: Kim Wichera

Originally from Saint John, Sarah has been working as a professional independent dance artist and teacher since graduating from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2001. She is a founding member and current Artistic Director of Connection Dance Works.

Her career has included collaborations with musicians, dancers, filmmakers, play writes, designers and visual artists. She has received grants for Professional Development, Residencies and Creation projects through the Canada Council for the Arts and artsnb.

Sarah is an Associate Teacher with Cecchetti Canada and certified in the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum Levels Pre-Primary through Level 5. She is the Director of the Intermediate and Senior Ballet School at First City School of Dance. Sarah’s teaching philosophy centers on creative movement, age-appropriate anatomical alignment, and healthy self-image.

Sarah continues to learn and develop work through her practice of Authentic Movement, a way of discovering movement inherent in the body instead of inventing it.

I’m interested in intuition itself and how it can unfold. For me, it is a process of witnessing and waiting for something to happen. I see it as sitting in the middle of the creative experience, paying attention.

Photo: Michael Mohan

Kelli Wray is a New Brunswick artist and interpretive dancer utilizing dance, photography, vocal and written word to share stories that have impact on community. She facilitated Meditation in MOVEment for over 10yrs for women to enjoy the freedom of barefoot dancing. There is vulnerability in her body of work on stage and in street performances with improvisational movements that are honest and raw. Currently based in Saint John, the co-existence of industry and nature has been influential to Kelli’s most recent works exploring the depth of connection to each other and to environment touching on themes of strength, resilience, courage, hope and despair.

Photo: Kelli Wray

Finding sanctuary in movement from a young age, Arwen Holder, dances to express herself beyond words. Primarily influenced by modern and contemporary techniques, Arwen holds reverence for improvisational practices, embracing the fluid nature of instinctual movement. Nurturing her creativity under the guidance of Marcia Dysart, First City School of Dance has become a place where she can express herself through movement in concert with her peers, in a shared artistic dialogue.

Photo: Naomi Peters

“Norah discovered her love of dance at the age of three and has been dedicated to the art form ever since. Her early training was rooted in ballet, completing up to Grade 8 and Advanced Foundation in the RAD curriculum. Alongside ballet, she also trained in contemporary and jazz, developing a foundation in multiple styles.

Norah continued her dance education at First City School of Dance, where she became a member of the FCSD Young Company in 2021. Through the company, she has had the opportunity to work with a range of accomplished choreographers, including Darryl Tracy, Sarah Prosper, and Chantal Baudouin, to name just a few. These experiences have deepened her understanding of contemporary performance and inspired her own creative voice.

In addition to performing, Norah began teaching at FCSD in 2022 and has continued to do so with enthusiasm. She has also begun developing her own choreographic works, exploring storytelling and personal expression through movement. Dance continues to be a space where she uncovers new ideas and ways of connecting with others.

Outside of the studio, Norah is a third-year English major at the University of New Brunswick Saint John. Passionate about art in all its forms, she hopes to pursue a career that allows her to integrate her diverse creative interests.”

Photo: Naomi Peters